The present invention relates to mounting and suspension systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a foot plate for mounting or suspending a tandem compressor system on a pair of channel rails.
Hermetic compressors comprise a motor compressor unit disposed within a hermetically sealed outer housing or shell. An electrical connection to the motor is made via a terminal which extends through a sidewall of the housing or shell. Fluid conduits also extend through the housing or shell to provide an external connection to the refrigeration system or other system to which the compressor is connected. When using tandem compressor units, the compressors are mounted adjacent to each other with the fluid conduits, both suction and discharge, coming together to form a single suction inlet fitting and a single discharge outlet fitting of the connection of the tandem compressor system to the refrigerant system or other system. In addition to the connection between the suction inlet and the discharge outlet, the tandem compressors may also be interconnected by one or more pairs of equalization tubes also extending through the sidewalls of the housing or shell. One equalization tube is normally positioned at a high elevation, above the level of oil in an oil sump located in the bottom of the housing or shell. This high elevation equalization tube provides for the equalization of the gas pressure within the housings or shells. The second equalization tube is normally located near the bottom of the housing or shell, coincident with the desired level of lubricant or oil within the housing or shell. This low elevation equalization tube provides for the equalization of the oil levels between the two compressor units.
Various prior art structures have been used to mount single compressors and these structures have also been utilized for the mounting of tandem compressors. As shown in FIG. 1, the prior art system for mounting a single compressor is shown. In FIG. 1, a compressor 110 is secured to a foot plate 112 by welding the housing or shell of compressor 110 to an upturned generally circular flange 114. The bottom cover or lower portion of the housing or shell of compressor 110 is typically domed in some manner as shown in FIG. 1. This domed feature of the housing or shell requires foot plate 112 to include four downwardly turned flanges 116, 118, 120 and 122. The length of flanges 116-122 are designed to be greater than the length of the housing or shell extending through foot plate 112 to provide a secure mounting surface for compressor 110.
While foot plate 112 shown in FIG. 1 works adequately for mounting a single compressor, there are problems encountered when a tandem compressor system is to be mounted. The typical method for mounting tandem compressors is to provide a pair of parallel mounting rails 124 to which two compressors 110 and two foot plates 112 are secured. Because foot plate 112 includes four downward turned flanges 116-122, both ends of two opposing flanges 116 and 118 or 120 and 122 must be reworked or machined as shown at 126 in FIG. 1 to provide clearance for the pair of parallel mounting rails.
The present invention addresses this problem by having a foot plate with one pair of opposing flanges extending in one direction while having the other pair of opposing flanges extending in the opposite direction. This provides clearance for the parallel mounting rails while still providing sufficient support for mounting a single compressor unit on a single foot plate if desired.
Other advantages and objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the subsequent detailed description, appended claims and drawings.